Runes were first used over 1500 years ago by the East Goths, and later appeared throughout England and Scandinavia.
As Christianity took hold, the use of runic alphabets in divination became reviled as a pagan practice.

The word "rune" itself comes from an early Anglo-Saxon word meaning "secret" or "mystery",
and they remain an enigma to the world at large.
Runes were initially most popular among Wiccans and modern pagans, but have enjoyed unprecedented mainstream adoption in the past 30 years.

Be aware!!!

The Norse used Runic characters mostly for practical purposes, such as marking graves, identifying property,
or for defacing other's graves and property with graffiti, such as at Maes Howe in Orkney.
New Agers ignore these uses and prefer to side with superstitious 12th century Norsemen and women who thought they could
see the future in alphabetic characters on wood or stone.
Somehow, the image of Viking warriors, worshippers of Thor and Odin, kneeling down to cast runes to decide whether or not to invade Ireland,
seems incongruous.

The word 'rune' derives from the Old Norse and Old English run which means "mystery."
The real mystery is why anyone would think that writing the letters of an alphabet on little pieces of wood or stone,
putting them in a bag, and then drawing them out and throwing them or laying them down in certain ways, would answer their questions,
give them direction for the present, guide them to see the future or help them make good decisions.
Runes may have gotten their reputation for being tools of divination when Christian Church leaders claimed they were used to cast
magic spells or communicate with the devil. Many New Agers seem to like Tolkein,
so the fact that his Hobbits used a kind of runes in their writing may have enhanced the association of runic letters with magic and mystery.
It is said that rune reading is useful for gaining spiritual insight. No doubt, it is as good as any other method.
Dr. Martin D. Rayner, a professor of physiology at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine,
claims that by gazing at the runes one can tap into the subconscious and find great knowledge about oneself.
How can the random selection of marked stones tell you anything about yourself?
Perhaps these Rune Interpretations are simply so evocative that each contains some point,
which can be accepted as relevant to some part of what is happening at the limits of consciousness any day, any time, to anyone.
That is the easiest possibility to accept from a strictly scientific standpoint.
The good doctor is giving new meaning not only to his life but to science as well.
Nevertheless, he says he has found rune reading to be "transformational" and leading to "breakthroughs", which are common goals of New Agers.